Samenvatting

The aim of the present study was to examine differences in perceived living group climate between boys and girls in a sample of 344 youth (68.6% male, M age =16, SD =1.58) receiving residential youth care in the Netherlands. Participants filled out self-report measures on living group climate. Results of multilevel regression models indicated that girls in non-correctional facilities experienced living group climate most positively, and girls in correctional facilities experienced living group climate most negatively compared to girls and boys in non-correctional facilities. We conclude that residential treatment settings should adapt gender-responsive ap-proaches to address specific needs of girls, specifically in secure residential care. Future studies should focus on specific needs of girls to advance knowledge on how they can benefit optimally from their stay in residential care to facilitate gender-specific programming in residential youth care.